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Mario Kart 64
|system1JP = December 14, 1996 |system1EU = |system1AU = July 10, 1997 |system1CH = November 17, 2003 iQue |system2 = Virtual Console (Wii) |system2NA = January 29, 2007 |system2JP = January 30, 2007 |system2EU = January 26, 2007 |system2AU = January 25, 2007 |system2KO = April 26, 2008 |system3 = Virtual Console (Wii U) |system3NA = December 29, 2016 |system3JP = Janaury 6, 2016 |system3EU = January 21, 2016 |system3AU = January 21, 2016 |class1 = Player's Choice |accessory1 = Classic Controller |accessory2 = Wii U Pro Controller (not required) |accessory3 = GameCube Controller |sales = *'Worldwide:' 9.87 million ** 2.23 million ** 5.55 million ** 1.94 million **'Others:' 0.15 million |genre = Racing |size = 100.14 MB https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-64/Mario-Kart-64-269558.html |ESRB = E |PEGI = 3 |CERO = A |USK = 0 |ACB = G |GRAC = All |rating = Yes |Fix = a }} Mario Kart 64 (also called MK64, Mario Kart 2, or MK2) is the second installment in the ''Mario Kart'' series. It features updated graphics, all-new courses, different characters and modified gameplay mechanics. It's also the first game in the series to feature Donkey Kong and Wario as playable characters while the game brings back the characters (minus Donkey Kong Jr. and Koopa Troopa) from Super Mario Kart. Mario Kart 64 was released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2007. However, ghosts cannot be saved, as this originally required a seperate peripheral. It was also released on the Wii U Virtual Console. Gameplay Changes from Super Mario Kart *The replacement of the item panels with item blocks. Unlike panels, blocks regenerate. *Additionally, trap blocks were added. *The addition of voices for some of the characters, although some characters speak to a very minor extent in Super Mario Kart. The rest have sound effects. *Donkey Kong Jr. was replaced with Donkey Kong. *Koopa Troopa was replaced with Wario. *The stages are 3-D, though the characters are still 2-D sprites. *Many items were introduced, such as the infamous Blue Shell. The Feather was removed. *Coins were removed from the game. *The game now has four cups per difficulty instead of three (although the 100cc cup in SMK had the unlockable Special Cup) *EXTRA class is added as the first ever Mirror Mode in the Mario Kart series, but is so far the only unlockable in the game. *The races are now three laps instead of five. *The players have an unlimited number of retries every time they finish the race in 5th-8th place. *The addition of Time Trials. *Up to four players can now play instead of two. *Special items were removed from the game, although they would return in Mario Kart: Double Dash‼. *The Special Cup is now available as a default cup. Characters Playable Stage Hazards *Swooper *Boo *Chain Chomp *Cheep-Cheep *Sidestepper *Mini-Bomb Kart *Monty Mole *Cow *Penguin *Piranha Plant *Snowmen *Spiny *Thwomp Other *Lakitu Courses 'Mushroom Cup' *Luigi Raceway *Moo Moo Farm *Koopa Troopa Beach *Kalimari Desert 'Flower Cup' *Toad's Turnpike *Frappe Snowland *Choco Mountain *Mario Raceway 'Star Cup ' *Wario Stadium *Sherbet Land *Royal Raceway *Bowser's Castle 'Special Cup ' *DK's Jungle Parkway *Yoshi Valley *Banshee Boardwalk *Rainbow Road Battle Stages *Big Donut *Double Deck *Block Fort *Skyscraper References to other games *''Super Mario Kart'' - The introduction music in Mario Kart 64 is an elongated remix of the theme from this game. In the music for the track Banshee Boardwalk, a part of Ghost Valley's music can be heard. *''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'' - Yoshi's sound effects were taken from this game. *''Super Mario 64'' - In the track Royal Raceway, there is a part where the racer can turn off the road and arrive at the Princess Peach's Castle exactly as it appeared in this game. It is also where the awards ceremony is held. *''Donkey Kong Country'' - This is the first appearance of the Donkey Kong Country version of Donkey Kong in the main Mario franchise. In fact, the sprite resembles the one Donkey Kong had in that game. References in later games *''Yoshi's Story'' - Yoshi's design in this game is similar to the design and sprites used in Mario Kart 64. *''Mario Party/''Mario Party 2 - Luigi's, Peach's, Wario's, and Toad's voice clips from the Japanese version were reused in these games. *''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'' - Many graphics from this game were reused, such as characters, karts, and character screen portraits as well as Luigi's, Peach's, Wario's and Toad's voice clips from the Japanese version. A similar thing that while losing characters turn into a Mini Bomb Kart in Mario Kart 64, losing characters turn into Bob-ombs in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. *''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' - A Mario Kart 64-style kart is an unlockable trophy. *''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'' - The name Sherbet Land is reused in this game. Also, Rainbow Road's music has a part from the Mario Kart 64 Rainbow Road's music. *''Mario Kart DS'' - The name Wario Stadium is reused in this game. Also, the courses Moo Moo Farm, Frappe Snowland, Choco Mountain, and Banshee Boardwalk and the battle stage Block Fort reappear in this game. *''Mario Kart Wii'' - The racecourse Moo Moo Meadows and battle stage Block Plaza are based off of Moo Moo Farm and Block Fort, respectively. Also, the courses Mario Raceway, Sherbet Land, DK's Jungle Parkway, and Bowser's Castle and the battle stage Skyscraper reappear in this game. *''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' - A section of Rainbow Road's music is covered in World 9's music. *''Mario Kart 7'' - The courses Luigi Raceway, Koopa Troopa Beach, and Kalimari Desert and the battle stage Big Donut reappear in this game. The kart now called Pipe Frame returns in this game as a kart body, with the dual exhaust design instead of the single exhaust from Super Mario Kart. Some of the music tracks are covers or rearranged versions of themes from Mario Kart 64, like Rainbow Road. A part of Neo Bowser City's music contains segments from the course background music for Toad's Turnpike. Finally, Mario Kart 64's winning and losing results themes receive a cover version in Mario Kart 7. *''Mario Kart 8/''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Toad's Turnpike, Royal Raceway, Yoshi Valley, and Rainbow Road reappear in these two games. The unused split screen for multiplayer in this game is also used here. *''Mario Kart Tour'' - Koopa Troopa Beach, Kalimari Desert, and Frappe Snowland reappear in this game. The results theme is an arrangement of the winning results theme of Mario Kart 64. Differences in multiplayer modes When playing with two or more players, some changes have been made to make the game run as smoothly as possible. Two players *The line between the two screens has each player's icon on them and acts as an overview on the players' positions. The lap count can be swapped with a map of the course. *In Kalimari Desert, the trains only have a tender and one passenger car attached to them, as opposed to five passenger cars. Three and four players *No music is played during racing, except when a Super Star is being used. *The frame-rate slows down to 20 frames per second. *In three-player mode, the fourth screen displays the cup and the course's name upon starting, and then shows the map of the course. *The screens in Luigi Raceway and Wario Stadium show a still image of player 1 at the starting line. *There are no trees on the meadows of Moo Moo Farm. *The trains in Kalimari Desert have only the locomotive, no tender or passenger cars. *There are no stars in the skies of Wario Stadium and Rainbow Road. *The giant penguin was removed from the ice platform in Sherbet Land. *In D.K.'s Jungle Parkway, the ship is absent. Reception Although attracting a small amount of criticism for elements such as the revised Battle mode, the game's reception was overwhelmingly positive, particularly as 4-player multiplayer made its debut.This game was also placed Number 4 in Nintendo Power's Greatest Games of All Time in 1997. Awards *Longest Track in the Mario Kart Series - Rainbow Road - Guinness Book of World Records Gamer's Edition 2009 - 2013 Pre-release and unused content Kamek was originally intended to be one of the playable characters, but ended up being replaced by Donkey Kong. The Character Select screen was also different, the characters faced the player, and Kamek can be seen in Donkey Kong's space. The working title of this game was Super Mario Kart R. Boos from Banshee Boardwalk also had a different look, the HUD was different from the final version, and item boxes were also completely black with colored question marks on them. The Cape Feather, which was in Super Mario Kart, was also intended to be included, as seen in a certain screenshot of Super Mario Kart R. This particular screenshot can be seen on the back of the packaging of the Nintendo 64 system. Trivia *As Yoshi's Story had not yet been released, Yoshi does not speak in the game. He, instead, uses the sounds from Super Mario World and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. *Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Wario's voice clips in the Japanese version were later reused for Mario Kart: Super Circuit and in the first two Mario Party games. *In Addition, Donkey Kong's voice clips in this game were later recycled in Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Kart: Super Circuit and the first seven Mario Party games. *As of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the only course that hasn't returned in a later Mario Kart game is Wario Stadium *Kamek was originally going to be playable. He was later swapped out with Donkey Kong. *''Mario Kart 64'' marks the first time Luigi, Toad, Yoshi, Wario and Donkey Kong receive a revamped appearance from the original 2D artwork to the N64 3D art direction of the Mario franchise. Super Mario 64 previously revamped Mario, Peach and Bowser. *The eight playable characters in this game were later reused in Mario Kart: Super Circuit and as the starting drivers in Mario Kart DS. *This game was placed Number 4 in Nintendo Power's Greatest Games of All Time in 1997. *In the game's ending credits in the Japanese version, voiceover Charles Martinet's last name is misspelled as "Martinee", but this is due to the fact that it's pronounced Mar-ti-nay. *The game was featured on the cover of Nintendo Power V93. *This is the one of two Mario Kart games to have the Special Cup available right from the start, the other being Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. *The lightning effect was changed in the Virtual Console release to a less intense flash, most likely to prevent seizures. *In 1996, Maygay released a Europe-only slot machine under the Nintendo license based on this game. *This is the only Mario Kart game with onomatopoeia, such as "Poomp!", "Boing!" "Crash", and "Whirrrr". External links *''Mario Kart 64 Wii Virtual Console) at Nintendo.com *Mario Kart 64 ''(Wii U Virtual Console) at Nintendo.com Category:Nintendo 64 games Category:Virtual Console games (Wii, Nintendo 64) Category:Virtual Console games (Wii U, Nintendo 64) Category:1996 video games Category:1997 video games Category:Racing games Category:Mario games Category:Mario Kart games Category:Nintendo games Category:Sports games Category:Nintendo EAD games Category:Games published by Nintendo Category:Games developed by Nintendo Category:Player's Choice games